lobbyist

noun

lob·​by·​ist ˈlä-bē-ist 

plural lobbyists

: one who conducts activities aimed at influencing or swaying public officials and especially members of a legislative body on legislation : a person engaged in lobbying public officials

The new rule says that if you were a registered lobbyist in the past two years, you can't work for the administration on any issue you touched. After you leave government, you can't lobby the administration at all.

—Jacob Weisberg

Because so many lobbyists have past experience on Capitol Hill, they usually have personal ties both to members of congress and to their key staffers, who vet and prioritize the earmark requests.

—Ken Silverstein

Examples of lobbyist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The office is among the most public-facing in state government, providing a host of services that include driver’s licenses and testing and other state IDs and registrations for vehicles, lobbyists and businesses. —Jonathan Bullington, Chicago Tribune, 18 Mar. 2026

Live Nation’s outside lobbyists were working directly with DOJ leadership to strike a deal, as Semafor scooped, sidestepping the antitrust unit and its former chief, Gail Slater. —Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 17 Mar. 2026

Householder was convicted of racketeering alongside lobbyist and former Ohio Republican Party chair Matt Borges in 2023. —ABC News, 17 Mar. 2026

Doris registered as a lobbyist in Utah in October 2025. —Robert Schmad, The Washington Examiner, 17 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lobbyist

• hobbyist